What, here?

Yes, right here in Washington County! And yes, that is the most frequent question we hear raised – “Is there really Human Trafficking in Washington County?”

Because of the need to maintain confidentiality, the details surrounding incidents of trafficking cannot be shared. Maintaining victims’ privacy is a key to recovery from the mental and physical brutality they have endured. This means that the local Department of Social Services cannot provide statistics, for example. When we asked the police about statistics we learned that the laws are just now catching up. Can you believe that there is still no national definition or category for the crime of trafficking other people whether it is for their labor or for their sexual services? It has also been noted that trafficking of children is often categorized as a different crime, such as child sexual abuse or otherwise misreported.

Major cities, major transportation routes – that’s where Polaris finds a concentration of calls